Headlight



Jan.. 6. 1925. 1,521,769.: E. E. HILLYER l HEADLIGHT Filed Jan. 5, 1923 Snom/woz Patented Jan. 6, 1925.

nannsrpn.; HILLYER, 013.30m.RIcHMoND,;NEW-1Yonx.

HEAnLIeHT,

vApplication filed January 5, 1923. Serial No. 610,765;

To all whom l-'may concern.'

Beit knownthat I, ERNEST E. HILLYER, aV citizeny of the UnitedStates of='America-,

residing atf Fort Richmond, RichmondE County, Statel of'New- York, have inventedy and useful Improvements in of which the followingrisqa cert-ain new Headlights, specification.

'llhis invention relates` to improvements` in motor vehicle headlights and' in particular-toA a4 lamp in which the-reflectorwill be adjustable to vary, the direction of throw of the., light beam.

Inthe different States, variousvlaws are in. effect concerning. where-light is required, for inst-anceV oneA State-inay require more light upon the road: at each side of thel front of' the vehicle than another andenemay require the beam ofrjlight to strikethe. ground within a. certain distance fro-nr the front of the vehicle. Therefore, inA Vorder for t-he motorist to have at his-dispos-al. headlights whichmay be adjusted'v to. meety the laws of. the various States,

I haveembodied'in the headlight, a` reflector which can be adjusted to throw the, light any place upon. the roadiforward of the vehicle. In the drawing which forms part of this specification Fig. l is a front view of a headlight embodying my improvement;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation partly in section showing the inner reflector and its adjustments Fig. 3 is a rear View of the headlight;

Fig. 4L is an enlarged section taken through the ball and socket joint which constitutes the top suspension point of the reflector relatively t-o the frame;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 1, showing one of t-he adjusting connections between the lower part of the reflector and the frame;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. l showing a ball and socket modification having the saine func tion as that illustrated in Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a section similar to Fig. 6 in which a coil spring is used to prevent longitudinal movement of the adjusting screw.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, l0 indicates a lamp casing which may be of any desired shape and which may be suitably mounted to the front of a motor vehicle. The casing lO is shaped to hold in itsvopen enda supporting ring llandiforwardly thereof, afsuitable Vhinged vlens holdi ing door 12 commonl to automobile`r head- A light lamps.4 The lens is l preferably yarranged so! thatfitmay be swung open there-- byraffording access tothe supporting'- ring 1l. i

Thisring supports at three spaced points" a parabolic reflector 13 which containsyaty its-centerthe-lightbulb-y14:, the wires from which project through a suitableopening;l

. 15 in tlie-rearof-=the casing 10.5

At 4thetop', centerof" theV reflector 13- there i' is provided-*athickened portion 16 which; fornisaboss andthrough which passes-a threadedI stud1l7,fthe upper end'offv which' formsthe ball'lportion of a ball and'socket, joint denoted generally by. 18,n the socket parti-thereof beingsuitablyfastened to the lsupportingr-ing. llv as-by rivets or welding:

The. lower` end off the stud l7f'projects 19 so that ,the stud may be revoljvedfwithf` a screwdriver to raise or lower the reflector l` relativelyfto-thefring ll.

In the form shown in Fig. 4, the stud-17` is replaced? by a bracket` 20 suitably vs ecured to the upperv exterior side "of-thereflector 13, and 'bent-at itsupperfto join the?- ball of the ball and socketconnect-ion. rfhisy connection provides for a universal movement of the reflector relatively to the ring 11 and in order to move the reflector to any necessary position to cast the light beam in any direction, I provide adjusting screws 2l situated in the slots on the ring 11 and extending rearwardly to engage the brackets 22 which are suitably secured to the exterior opposite sides of the reflector below the center thereof. The rounded slotted heads of the screws are retained in position against the countersunk frontyface of the ring 11 by washers 23 which are welded or soldered to the ring. This arrangement maintains the brackets 22 at whatever distance. from the ring l1 they are adjusted to by the turning of yscrews 2l. The same effect is obtained by using a coil spring 25 of a suflicient movement of the reflector in any direction.

By very slight adjustments then, it is possible to throw the light beams sidewise and up or down depending upon the law governing the throw of headlights in thev State where the motorist happens to be. For instance, should it be necessary to throw the light beam to the left; assuming we are behind the lamp as in F ig. 3, the screw A would be turned to draw the adjacent edge of the reflector towards the ring 11 and simultaneously screw B would be turned to move the adjacent edge of the reflector away from the ring without moving the reflector out of the vertical position. Therefore the reflector swivels on its ball and socket connection and the light is accordingly thrown to the left. The opposite operation of the screws would cause the beam of light to be thrown to the right. If the two screws are used to draw the reflector forwardly, then of course the light beam would be raised as thereflector would swing about its ball and socket connection. Moving the lowery part of the reflector rearwardly casts the beam of light downwardly.

lith my improved arrangement, it will be notedJ that the necessary adjustments may be made without removing the casing and in fact theV invention contemplates the location of the various adjusting elements whereby the necessary adjustments may be made by simply opening the lens o-f the lamp.

By means of my adjustable features, the position of the casing is entirely immaterial and I can adjust the reflector to meet any requirements within reason.

l. In a headlight, a casing, a ring member 'in said casing, a reflector in said casing, a lamp carried by said reflector, a screw stud having a ball and socket connection to said ring, the stud passing through the upper part of said reflector whereby a revolving movement of the stud will produce a lower ing or raising of the reflector, extensions on opposite sides of the reflector adjacent the lower part thereof, and screw members passing thro-ugh the ring and through said eX- tensions whereby rotary and tilting movement may be imparted to said reflector to throw a beam of light in any desired direction.

2. In a headlight, a casing, a ring member in said casing, a reflector in said casing, a threaded stud passing through the top of the reflector and having a ball end thereon, means for retaining the ball end of the stud in association with the ring whereby the reflector will be suspended, adjusting screws in the ring, brackets on the side of the reflector through which said studs pass, springs between said brackets and the ring whereby when the screws are adjusted to revolve or tilt` the reflector the springs will steady the reflector relatively to the ring,

and the ring having slots therein through which the adjusting screws pass whereby any upward or downward movement of the reflector will be permitted, without altering the distance between the edge of the reflector and the ring.

In testimony whereof I hereunto allix my signature.

ERNEST E. HILLYER. 

